Iran Denies Cyber-War Chief was Assassinated

Revolutionary Guards say death of the head of the country's cyber war program was a 'horrific incident,' denies assassination rumors.

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Adam Ross, Elad Benari, 03/10/13 15:52

Tehran

AFP photo

Iran's Revolutionary Guard has announced they have been investigating the death of Mojtaba Ahmadi and determined that his death was due to a "horrific accident", and not an assassination.

Mojtaba Ahmadi, who served as commander of Iran’s Cyber War Headquarters, was found dead in a wooded area near the town of Karaj, northwest of the capital Tehran on Monday.

Iranian Republican Guards have described the death of Ahmadi as a "horrific incident" but cooled rumours of an assassination.

"The matter is being investigated and the main reason of the event and the motive of the attacker has not been specified," a source was quoted as saying in Iran's Sepah news.

Ahmadi was last seen leaving his home for work on Saturday. He was later found with two bullets in the heart, according to a report in London's Daily Telegraph, which cited a report on a website linked to the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“I could see two bullet wounds on his body and the extent of his injuries indicated that he had been assassinated from a close range with a pistol,” an eyewitness told the website.

The commander of the local police gave further credence to an assassination saying that two people on a motorbike had been involved in the assassination.

Five Iranian nuclear scientists and the head of the country’s ballistic missile program have been killed since 2007. The regime has accused Israel’s external intelligence agency, the Mossad, of carrying out these assassinations.

The last victim of a known assassination was Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, achemist who worked in the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, who died when an explosive device blew up on his car in January last year.

The killing of Ahmadi coincides with a new diplomatic effort by President Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s newly elected leader. He has voiced the hope that Iran’s confrontation with America and the leading Western powers over its nuclear ambitions can be settled within months.